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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418412">my name is (not) Theseus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXHumptyDumptyXx/pseuds/xXHumptyDumptyXx'>xXHumptyDumptyXx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Study, Emotional Manipulation, Exiled TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, In a way, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Unhealthy Relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 12:15:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXHumptyDumptyXx/pseuds/xXHumptyDumptyXx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy looks up at Techno with wide, scared eyes, and he remembers how it feels to not listen to those three simple words. He remembers the humiliation, the stinging cuts from Dream's sword, the smell of gunpowder and rain and the way he'd drowned in his own guilt and <strong><em>Give me everything, Tommy</em></strong><em><em>, and Tommy breaks.</em></em><br/></p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p> ---</p>
  <p></p>
  <div class="center">
    <p>Techno discovers Tommy underneath his basement but the execution hasn’t happened yet + some extra hurt/comfort</p>
  </div>
</div>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Technoblade &amp; TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Completed stories I've read</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>my name is (not) Theseus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by @tamatojam's twitter post</p>
<p>Techno and Tommy's dynamic can be taken as big brother/little brother or old friend of my Dad/my old friend's annoying kid. Hopefully someone enjoys this it took me forever to write :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first and last time Tommy met Technoblade was after he'd been exiled from his own country. The first time it was Wilbur and him, alone but together as they stood side by side in their old uniforms. Tommy hopeful. Wilbur calculated. The both of them cautious as they eyed the iron axe loosely held in Techno’s hand. <em>You haven’t gained our trust yet,</em> Wilbur said, eyes colder and sharper then than they had ever been, but Tommy didn't dwell on that. As the three of them descended into the skeletal beginnings that formed Pogtopia, Tommy smiled. <em>If there’s anyone that could help them gain back L'manburg,</em> he thought,<em> it was the Blade.</em></p>
<p>The last time Tommy met Technoblade, he'd come to mock him. Decked in netherite armor. Unkillable. The antithesis of Tommy with his scratched up hands and newly ripped clothes. <em>No one would laugh at you. You did really good,</em> Ghostbur told him, and Tommy hid the way his lips quivered, at the way he still took comfort from Wilbur’s presence. Techno's laughter had once filled Tommy with hope, but now it filled his chest with rage.<em> I fucking hate you! You pig in a crown- fucking pig prick!</em> He didn't care how anti-government Techno claimed to be before he promised to help. Tommy wouldn’t ever stop hating him: for the betrayal, for the way Tubbo couldn’t be around fireworks, for his stupid story about Theseus that came true even though he isn’t some tragic Greek hero, and for the Withers and craters and death that haunted L'manburg to this day. Techno was used to Tommy's hatred, however, as he watched the boy attempt to break free from the unseeable cage that formed Logstedshire.</p>
<p>After Dream blew up- after Tommy decided to leave Logsted, he ran through bitter arctic wind and sleet and felt warm, warmer than he had in weeks. He yelled in joy and cried in happiness until his tears began to freeze over. It was only after Tommy stumbled upon a village for the second time that he unwillingly remembered Dream’s words: <em>Did you know that Techno lives somewhere over there?</em>  Techno lives somewhere over here. The thought of Techno's cottage made Tommy grimace. He didn’t want Techno's help, and he definitely didn’t want any pity. <em>You know what I do want?</em> Tommy thought as he grinned. <em>His things.</em> <em>No one ever got told off for robbing someone.</em> The last time Tommy was at Techno’s door, he was too scared to take anything for fear of what Dream would think of him. This time Tommy clings to whatever he can get his hands on.</p>
<p>Tommy shivered in the small room he'd made underneath Technoblade's basement. His plan was perfect: live here, steal Techno's things, and get back his discs. Dnret wasn't the richest of places and it was always cold, but it was his. Nobody could take it from him. This still didn't change the fact that he was utterly alone. Wilbur was dead. Ghostbur had abandoned him weeks ago. L’manburg hated him. Tubbo- even Tubbo wanted nothing to do with him. It was increasingly obvious the more he thought about it. In fact, he felt stupid for not having realized sooner that deep down, they must have always hated him. Tubbo, Fundy, and Quackity. Ranboo too. They just needed to find a good enough reason to get rid of him. The only one he'd had left was Dream, until he messed up. It was his fault that his last friend- was Dream really his friend? He came to watch him, but he was the only one there for him! No, he blew up- Tommy stopped. He tried his best not to think about Dream. It made his mind fuzz over and his chest hurt when he did. There was always Techno, sure, but Tommy wasn't about to blow his cover. He didn't want to talk to Techno anyway, no matter how much he hated being alone. As Tommy curled up under the thin blanket he'd found in one of Techno's chests, all he wanted to do was escape his thoughts, even if for just a little while.</p>
<p>The next time Tommy meets Technoblade, he’s ragged, dirty, and a little unhinged. Techno crosses his hideout and grabs Tommy by his recently patched-up shirt, but Tommy doesn't cower. He's proud to be alive, and that’s more than he could say about the day before.</p>
<p>Techno holds him an arms-length away, like a wild animal that might lash out at any second. His laugh is short and emotionless as he takes in Tommy's appearance. It makes Tommy angry, and as much as he wishes it didn't, a little scared. "I knew someone was sneaking around! Thought you could just steal my things, Tommy?"</p>
<p>Tommy grins and puts his hands in the air. "Techno- how are you?”</p>
<p>Techno is not amused. “Tommy," he says slowly and deliberately, "what are you doing in my house?”</p>
<p>Tommy gives up the act immediately and begins to kick Techno in his netherite-clad leg. Negotiation is overrated anyway. “Fuck you, bitch! This is my house! You see that sign?" Tommy points at his piss-colored wall, and when Techno looks away he tries to pull his grip off. It doesn't work. "No pussies allowed! Oh, looks like you have to leave!"</p>
<p>Surprisingly, Techno does let him go, and satisfaction rises up in Tommy's chest. "That's right, bitch! You couldn't kill me <em>even</em> if you <em>tried</em>!"</p>
<p>"Actually, I definitely could, but that's besides the point. This is my house! You can't just kick a man out of his own house!”</p>
<p>"I already told you, this is my house! How did you even find me, anyway?" Tommy is genuinely curious. He thought his plan was perfect, but it hadn't even been twenty-four hours before he was discovered. At least, as far as he knew. It was hard to tell time when you were underground.</p>
<p>"Are you serious right now? The missing ender pearls? The golden apples? I want those back by the way. -The channel member sign!"</p>
<p>"-I have no idea what you're talking about! I am a master of stealth!”</p>
<p>"No, you're not. Now," Techno sighs as he puts his hand out, "give me everything."</p>
<p>The grin on Tommy's face falls. "W-what? Everything?"</p>
<p>"Everything you stole. I'm not just gonna let you pillage through my valuables," Techno clarifies, but all Tommy hears is static. Some part of him, of the old Tommy, knows there's no way Techno actually wants him to give up everything. He knows this, but he also knows how easy it would be for Techno to take it all if he really wanted to. It would be so easy for him to make Tommy dig a hole right in front of him, make him throw it all away - his tools, his armor, his- his pictures of Tubbo! "I'm sorry, Techno! I'm so sorry!"</p>
<p>Techno's hand drops and his expression shifts. "Tommy?"</p>
<p>Tommy looks up at him with wide, scared eyes, and he remembers how it feels to not listen to those three simple words. He remembers the humiliation, the stinging cuts from Dream's sword, the smell of gunpowder and rain and the way he'd drowned in his own guilt and <strong><em>Give me everything, Tommy,</em></strong> and Tommy breaks.</p>
<p>"I'm so sorry- I didn't-" His hands shake as he begins to unclasp his armor. Dream is disappointed. Dream is angry with him. If he gives him everything fast enough, if he's compliant enough, Dream might forgive him- Dream might still come and visit! "I'm so sorry, Dream! Please forgive me!" Tommy doesn't even get his first chest-plate strap undone before Dream reaches out and stops him. His grip is light and hesitant, but it still makes Tommy flinch anyway.</p>
<p>"-I'm sorry! I really am!"</p>
<p>"Tommy? It's okay. I'm not going to take anything, alright?" It's only after Tommy hears the soft tone of voice that he looks back up at Dre- at Techno's face.</p>
<p>“...Techno?” Tommy doesn't think he's ever seen Techno look like this before. His eyes are all droopy-looking like he's- like he's concerned. He’s definitely never looked at <em>him</em> like this. It doesn't feel right. None of this is right. Why? Why had he just done that <em>in front of Technoblade</em>? Techno nods and lets go of his wrist, before he stands up from the kneel he was in and backs up a few steps. Tommy lets out a shaky breath and looks around the room. It’s Dnret. It's just him and Techno. Techno across the room with an unreadable expression. Tommy cold as the cobblestone floor makes him shiver. He can’t remember sitting down. He can’t remember much after Techno had placed his palm out, actually, but he does know that Dream isn’t here. He isn’t. This isn’t Logsted. He left that place because- because Dream <em>wasn’t his friend</em>. Tommy puts his hands on his head and curls further into himself. He feels angry and ashamed about what he just did, but more than anything, he feels small as he tries to put himself back together. In front of Technoblade, his enemy, no less.</p>
<p>The sound of fabric rustling brings Tommy’s attention back to the present. Techno begins to unbutton his cape in front of him. It’s the nice royal blue one with sheeps wool for insulation that Tommy saw him wear while illegally sneaking around L’manburg with Phil. Tommy doesn't understand why he’s taking it off, until Techno steps closer and drapes it over his shoulders. He doesn't want the pity, but the cape is big and warm and the wool digs into his skin and grounds him to reality. Tommy pulls it further over him and buries his cheek into the side. Techno hasn’t stopped staring at him, and his gaze is different. It’s carefully masked, but Tommy knows there’s anger in there now instead of annoyance. Is Techno mad at him? He doesn’t know what to do. The previous confidence he felt is gone.</p>
<p>Techno clears his throat. "Exile hasn't treated you well, I take it?”</p>
<p>"I don't want your pity," Tommy replies, voice low and bitter.</p>
<p>"It's not pity if it's the truth. I'll ask again, Tommy: why are you in my house? If you wanted to live here, you could have just asked."</p>
<p>Tommy shakily stands as he holds the cape in place. He meets Techno’s gaze, but he can't help but look away as he answers. "Well, my friend Dream... uhh, the two of us had a bit of an argument, so I decided to leave.”</p>
<p>Techno's expression shifts again. “<em>Right</em>," he says as he drags out the word. "An argument... So you decided to come mooch off me then?"</p>
<p>"Exactly! Why do all the work myself when I can just take your things instead?" Tommy's grin finally returns but it doesn’t stay long. "...I don’t believe you, by the way.”</p>
<p>"About what? Me letting you stay here? I mean, I wouldn't let you steal my things, obviously, but you really think I’d just turn you away? You may hate me, Tommy, but I've never hated you."</p>
<p>"I do hate you! You killed Tubbo and blew up L'manburg! Not to mention when you came to mock me in exile! You didn’t even show up to my party, either, so don’t act like you suddenly care about me.”</p>
<p>“Party? Tommy, I have no idea what you’re talking about-”</p>
<p>“-I don’t want to hear your excuses! You never cared about me. None of you did! It doesn’t matter if I’m alone, though. I’m still going to get my discs back…” Tommy clenches his fists and straightens his posture. “...no matter what.”</p>
<p>“I really have no idea about this party, but I warned you about what happens to heroes. I told you about Theseus-"</p>
<p>"-Yeah well <em>I'm not Theseus! I'm just me!</em>" Tommy's chest hurts after the words rip from his mouth, and he hates the way Techno doesn't reply. It feels like forever, his breaths loud and unstable in his ears, until Techno finally speaks again.</p>
<p>"You may have fallen down Theseus' path, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stay on it. The way I see it, you’ve got two choices. Either you pack up your things, give me back what you stole, and find a new home, or you join me and we get back your discs together."</p>
<p>"Wait- why would you help me get back my discs?"</p>
<p>Techno raises an eyebrow. "Tommy, you gave up everything for your country, and what did they give you in return? Exile. Whatever happened to you during that exile? Whatever Dream did to you? You didn't deserve it.” Techno pauses for a moment, as if he wants his words to sink in. “You see, Tommy, I too understand how it feels to be betrayed by those I trusted.”</p>
<p>Tommy looks at Techno in his netherite armor and royal blue and gold clothes. He thinks of Schlatt and his chilling order: <em>Take him out.</em> The conflict in Techno’s eyes. His crazed expression as he loaded his crossbow filled with a million deadly colors. He thinks of Tubbo’s flesh-colored burns faded over time and his cold decree: <em>Take him away.</em> The way he'd stood on that towering obsidian wall and watched Tommy with an expression void of friendship. Techno. His enemy. The one who betrayed him. The one who now offered him sanctuary. Tubbo. His best friend… if he could even call them friends now. The one who always stuck by his side. The one who exiled him. Everything's all backwards. Everything's changed. Only one thing has remained the same: his fight for his discs. They’re the cause of all of this.</p>
<p>"You wronged me, Technoblade. You betrayed me… but L’manburg betrayed me too. If we really were to team up, it doesn't mean I trust you, or that I don't still hate you for what you did to Tubbo. But… you’ll let me stay? You’ll help me get back my discs?”</p>
<p>Techno nods. “I’ll step out of retirement. I'll help you get your discs back. It was only a matter of time before L’manburg started to hunt me down anyway, what with the propaganda sighs all over the place.”</p>
<p>Tommy looks at his choices, but it’s not much of a decision. He has no-where and no-one left to turn to. He knows Techno hates government. Hates L’manburg. He knows Techno will more than likely use this as a way to get revenge. It doesn’t matter. He has to get his discs back.</p>
<p>"...Fine,” Tommy says as he takes the cape off and holds it in front of Techno. He doesn’t need it anymore, but the cold hits his skin again and makes him shiver. “But I’m only saying yes if we don’t have to be friends."</p>
<p>Techno laughs as he takes the cape and throws it over his shoulders. "That’s completely fine by me. We don’t have to be friends. Just know that no partner of mine, friend or not, is goin’ to freeze at night. Give me a second." He turns and begins to climb back up the ladder. Tommy’s face scrunches up in confusion, but he stays where he is and waits. Less than a minute passes before Techno returns with a small machine and a cape in his hands. “Heater,” is all he says as he walks over and places it down in front of Tommy. “I’ll get some coal for it. And here’s a cape. It’s one of Phil’s spares so it’s probably a little too big, but it’ll do for now.”</p>
<p>Tommy doesn’t even argue against the gifts. He reaches out and takes the cape, but for some reason, it doesn’t feel bad when he accepts. It doesn’t feel like pity. Techno and him aren’t friends. He doesn’t even know how he feels about that word anymore. Tubbo was his friend and yet he exiled him. Dream was his friend and yet he hurt him. He’d rather not have friends if that’s what it gets him.</p>
<p>Tommy pulls the cape around his shoulders and digs his cheek into the side again. It’s still too big on him, but it’s just as fluffy as Techno’s. “Thanks, Big T,” he finally says. “I think this calls for a celebration!” Not a second later there’s a golden apple in Tommy’s hand. Techno yells in protest, but his hands never reach for it. Tommy just laughs as he takes a huge bite. He feels safe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments are appreciated! Even just a POG</p></blockquote></div></div>
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